Improvement in gates



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Jansen. ERWIN, or Profr-Tenues, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent N o. 113,282, dated April 4,1871.

lMPRQVEMENT IN GATES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making parl: of the lame.

To ali whom t may concern:

Be 'it known that I, JAMES B. ERWIN, ofthe city of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gates ;4 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had tothe accompanying drawing making a part of this specication, in which;

' Figure l is a perspective View of my improvement. Like letters of reference indicate like parts of each. My improvement relates to the construction of gates for use in farm fences, in the `fences of dooryards, ornamental grounds, &c., and `consists in the combination and arrangement ot' devices for hanging the gate .by rollers and hangers to'a pair of tilting-A bars, each pivoted at its center, so that when such bars are tilted either way the gate will automatically run 0n its rollers down the inclines'so formed.

The tilting of the bars is effected by means of any suitable apparatus, so arranged as `to be operated by the weight of the horse orV buggy coming thereon, or by the manipulation of the rider or drivel', who for such purpose 4need not leave his seat.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction-and mode of operation.

The gate-bars a." and posts a are of the usual orV .any known construction, except that two of the posts a extend up -to suchheight as may be desired, and each has in its upper end a roller, c.

A frame-work, consisting of end posts b", center post b', and cross-bar la, ofabout twicev the length of the' gate, is erected vas a support for the gate and its operating devices.- The gate plays through the cen.A ter post, as shown. v

The end and center postsb b" are at the desired point connected by stringers al, and on these the tilt' ing inclines e are lbalanced,'at or near their respective centers.4

Each incline e is so shaped that it shall, when either end rests on its stringer d, be a little out of horizontal, such end being the lower.

The rollers c ot' the gate-post a -operate on these inclines e, so that by throwing np or elevating the corresponding ends of both iuclines c, the gate, opervating by its own. weight, will automatically roll down the inclines so formed and open or close, as ,the case may be.

For changing the tilt or slant-of the inclines e various devices may be employed. They may be tilted separately or simultaneously, by levers or pulleys or other equivalent mechanism, which mechanism may be set in operation by the weight of the horse, or by the carriage striking a lever, or bythe direct manipulation of the driver. .But the devices shown in the drawing I find work vwell. f

As here illustrated, I connect the'contiguous ends `of the inclines c to each other by one or more bars t', pivoted at or near their centers to the center-post a.

A slot, t, should be made for the pin or wrist otto Work in.

A cord, rope, or chain, j, then extends from the contiguous e'nds of the inclines e, or from the opposite ends, if so preferred, over pulleys g, to any convenient point for the manipulation of the rider, who,

by pulling the proper cord, can open or close the gate at pleasure without leaving his seat.

The rising of the inner end of either incline e effects, through the action of the connecting-bars i, the lowering of the inner end of the other incline, and 'vice fve'rsa.

The cords f and pulley g can be arranged under a protecting cover, or carrieddown and arranged in a box nndei` ground, so as to be free from obstruction y by snow and ice. Y

If so desired, any elastic buffer or spring may be used to arrestgradnally the motion of the gate at the end of its movement in either direction.

I am aware that gates have Vbeen opened' andclosed by the tilting ofthe bars on which they were hung, and hence I do not claim, broadly, such mode of operation, but limit myself to the features of construction hereinafter specified. g

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

' A pair of inclines, e c, pivoted at or near their respective centers, tilting simultaneously'inthe same direction, each carrying, byan interposed roller, one ofthe'posts a, of the gate, in combination with the bar t', arranged between and` connecting such tiltinglevers, and, by means of 'slots and 'wr-ists, operating the same, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I, the saidJAMES; B. ERWIN,

have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES B. ERWIN Witnesses: A. S. NICHOLSON, l G. H. CHRISTY. 

